10 Facts About Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe is known by millions all over the world and she is an icon of beauty, finesse and sex appeal. She was a famous model and actress and deemed by many as one of the most beautiful women of all time.

1. Norma Jean Mortenson

While many people know the name Marilyn Monroe, very few people know her real name. Her birth name was Norma Jean Mortenson and she was also known as Norma Jean Baker. She was born in Los Angeles in 1926 and was very famous for most of her life. The surname Monroe came from was her grandmother’s married name.

2. Famous Then, Famous Now

Marilyn Monroe was a very popular model in her time and her fame continues to this day. As recently as 1999, she was named the number one Sex Star of the 20th Century by Playboy magazine and was also voted the Sexiest Woman of the Century by People magazine.

3. “Candle in the Wind”

Many people know and sing along to the song ’Candle in the Wind’ written by Elton John, but very few know that the song is about Marilyn Monroe. The more recent variation, which paid tribute to Princess Diana, was more public but the original song was written about Monroe.

4. Postage Stamp

It takes a great deal of prestige and fame to be featured on postage stamps issued by the U.S. Post Office. In 1995, Marilyn was featured on the 32 cent stamp that was a commemoration of her life and legacy.

5. Critically Acclaimed Actress

Marilyn was a famous model, but was also a critically acclaimed actress as well. She was in Some Like it Hot, a movie that was rated as one of the most successful comedies of all time. The AFI rated the movie as the number one comedy; Monroe played alongside Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis who were cross dressers in the movie.

6. The Seven Year Itch

One of the most iconic images of Marilyn Monroe is of her attempting to hold down her white dress while it was being blown up by air from a subway grate. The scene occurred in the movie The Seven Year Itch. Many movie makers and photographers have attempted to do the same shot or at least something similar to it.

7. Sad Childhood

Marilyn was an only child whose mother was in and out of mental hospitals and was unable to take care of her. Thusly, Marilyn spent two years in at Orphan’s Home, a Los Angeles orphanage, and the remainder of her childhood in foster homes.

8. Famous Husband

Marilyn was once married to Joe DiMaggio, the famous baseball player. It was rumored that her filming the movie The Seven Year Itch proved to be a fatal blow to their marriage. He didn’t like the scene in the subway over the air grates or the few scenes that had to be cut because of censorship expectations.

9. Drug Therapy

It was said that Marilyn was on a different drug for everything that happened in her life. She took pills to help her wake up in the morning, pills to get to sleep at night, pills to help her calm down and pills to get her excited about things. Her doctor, Dr. Ralph Greenson, was a psychoanalyst to the stars and relied heavily on drug therapy to keep her grounded.

10. An Early Exit

Marilyn Monroe died in her home in August of 1962. The LA County Coroner’s Office ruled her official cause of death as an ’acute barbiturate poisoning’. Many people suspect that the overdose was intentional, a suicide; however, there has never been any official conclusion regarding why or how the overdose occurred.